A LANDLADY and a man who came to her aid were last night recovering in hospital from being stabbed in a Fishguard pub.

Police were called to the Ship and Anchor on Wednesday night after reports of a "disturbance" in the bar where landlady Diane Evans had been having trouble with a customer.

Rhydian Havard, manager of the Old Coach House pub nearby, went to help.

A 23-year-old local man was arrested at the pub and was in police custody last night.

Mr Havard had to have an operation at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest. Mrs Evans was also still in hospital last night. Staff said they were "on the mend" and not seriously injured.

Dyfed-Powys Police were called to the Ship and Anchor at about 6.20pm on Wednesday where they found the two injured people.

The incident shocked people in Fishguard, which still has a tradition of "early closing" on Wednesdays, making it one of the quietest nights for town centre pubs.

Peter Lloyd, who runs a pub near the Ship and Anchor, said, "It looks as if knife culture is spreading from other areas and coming to Wales. It's time something was done about it, possibly a stop and search system may have to be brought in."

Old Coach House landlord Paul Mason added, "Everybody looks after each other in this town usually. It's quite surprising that this thing's happened in this small town. Knife culture is something that we don't even think about in Fishguard to be honest.

"I was shocked I couldn't believe what happened. It's a friendly, quiet place where everybody just gets on with everybody else."

Dyfed-Powys Police want to speak to two people who were playing pool in the Ship and Anchor at the time of the incident. They are believed to be holidaymakers and may have witnessed what happened.

The police said, "It was very quiet in the pub at the time and Fishguard isn't renowned for this sort of incident, it really is a one-off, so people don't need to be unduly concerned."